IU's Newton, Moye feel right at home

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jeff Newton and A.J. Moye are going home to Atlanta. They hope to return to Indiana with the Hoosiers' sixth national championship.

The two reserves have already played a big part in the team's success, helping it reach the Final Four for the first time in a decade.

"Both guys, when they come in, make us a better basketball team," coach Mike Davis said Tuesday. "Both guys could easily start for us, but I decided to go the other route. When they come in, there's no drop-off."

The 6-foot-9 Newton, who played at Mays High School in Atlanta, is Indiana's first big man off the bench, usually in place of 6-8 Jarrad Odle. He's averaging 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds and has blocked a team-high 65 shots, more than a third of the team's total.

The 6-3 Moye, who played at Westlake High School, will come in at guard and could get extra playing time if Tom Coverdale's injured ankle doesn't heal before the Hoosiers' semifinal Saturday night against Oklahoma in the Georgia Dome.

Moye is averaging 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds and always seems to be scrapping somewhere around the ball. The sure-handed sophomore also has the lowest ratio of turnovers to minutes played among all the Indiana regulars.

Freshman Donald Perry would get the start if Coverdale can't go, but Moye, Perry, Dane Fife and Kyle Hornsby could be used almost interchangeably at the guard positions.

"As a basketball player, anytime you have a Final Four it's big. But to have it in your hometown and to be able to participate in it, it's unbelievable," Davis said. "So they're all excited about going back home.

"Moye plays with a lot of energy on the offensive end, and then he's really stepped his defense up. Newton is a great, talented player who hadn't played up to his potential until now. He's really performing at a high level with more energy than in the past."

That's something the Hoosiers (24-11) will need against the Sooners (31-4), who will be favored Saturday night.

Being an underdog isn't new for Indiana, whose players weren't available for comment Tuesday.

The Hoosiers upset top-seeded Duke 74-73 in the South Regional semifinals, then beat Kent State 81-69 on Saturday for a trip to Atlanta. In two seasons as Indiana coach, Davis already has won as many tournament games as Bob Knight did in his last seven years with the Hoosiers.

It took Knight five years to win the first of his three NCAA titles.

Davis became coach after Knight was fired before the 2000-01 season. This year, Davis had time to install his own system.

"Last year I had about 15 plays and this year about 75 plays," he said.

"I have one main setup we run a lot. I just thought if you play hard-nosed defense it's really going to wear you out, and you need to have an offense that no matter whatever happens, everybody knows where to go.

"There's no doubt they know exactly what to do every single time."

Davis still didn't know whether Coverdale, the team's second-leading scorer behind Big Ten player of the year Jared Jeffries, would be able to play on Saturday. Coverdale sprained his left ankle against Kent State.

"It's day by day, questionable," Davis said. "If he plays, he won't do a whole lot, and he'll be at full speed by no means."

Davis said he would probably know by Friday whether Perry will start.

"As a player, he should accept the challenge and look forward to it," Davis said.